Rewilding

May 2022

Rewilding at Dundreggan, Glen Moriston

From the 'Rewilding Britain' website

In the Highlands rewilding is breathing life back into Dundreggan’s disappearing woodland, bringing golden eagles, new jobs and an incredible experience for visitors. 

Once covering much of Scotland, Caledonian forest clings on in only a few tiny remnants. Deforestation for timber and farming means that more than 90% of this ancient habitat has been lost. So when rewilding charity Trees for Life bought the 4,000-hectare sporting estate near Loch Ness in 2008, it marked a new chapter for the future of the area – not only for its struggling woodlands but for the local community. 

Thanks to Trees for Life’s successful reduction of deer browsing, to encourage natural woodland regeneration, complemented by tree planting, Dundreggan now supports 1,000 hectares of native forest and more than 4,000 species of plants and animals.

In 2020, golden eagles bred at the estate for the first time in 40 years, with an eagle pair successfully rearing a chick. There’s no doubt that the estate’s developing woodland habitat – home to an increasing number of black grouse, a key food source for eagles – played a large part in attracting them.

Read more

http://www.treesforlife.org.uk

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Wilding in West Sussex - an inspiring story

In 'Wilding' (2018), Isabella Tree tells the story of the 'Knepp experiment', a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.

This highly-acclaimed and very readable book is available to borrow from Highland libraries or can be bought online from Waterstones for £9.99 plus postage.

Guardian review

Buy from Waterstones

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Rewilding in Scotland  -  the Alladale project

October 2017

Max Robinson, of Rewilding Scotland, has drawn our attention to an article about and interview with Paul Lister, owner of the Alladale Estate, inland from Ardgay, whose proposal to reintroduce wolves in a fenced enclosure on the estate, in addition to other more modest rewilding aims, has caused considerable controversy.

Unattributed article on Rewilding Scotland website  'The Wolf Man Of Scotland' .

Interview with Paul Lister by Doug Wilson, senior biologist on the Wolf Project at Yellowstone National Park.

There are a number of other interesting items, including stories about lynx and beavers in the UK, on the  discussion  page of the website at  www.rewilding.scot .

And there's lots more interesting stuff on Rewilding Britain's website at  www.rewildingbritain.org.uk

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Reforestation in Norway: showing what’s possible in Scotland and beyond 

From  Rewilding Britain                 www.rewildingbritain.org.uk

Scotland and Norway suffered large-scale deforestation over centuries but over the last 100 years the trees have been returning to Norway.  It could be happening in Scotland too.

Some people think that the reason there are no trees growing across great swathes of Scotland is that they can't grow in these places – it’s too wet, it’s too windy, the soil is too thin.  But they’re wrong.  Look at the landscape in Scotland today and you’ll see a diverse mix of trees hanging on the edges of streams and gullies and rock faces. They’ve survived for centuries in extreme fringe locations where grazing mouths can’t reach them.

The forests of Scotland could return – if deer numbers were reduced to a level the land can support, if land wasn’t burned to favour shooting birds, and if livestock was managed alongside woodland as it is in many other countries.

Reforesting is a part of rewilding.  Rewilding is about dedicating areas of land to nature, where nature decides the outcome.  We can see what that might mean for Scotland by looking across the water to southwest Norway – an area almost identical to Scotland in climate and geology.

[The further information about reforestation in Norway originally linked to from here is no longer available, but see above for information about a rewilding project in Scotland.]

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Trees for Life Rewilding at Dundreggan

Trees for Life's   Rewilding the Highlands, Scotland - is a reforestation and biodiversity project based on Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Invermoriston

http://www.treesforlife.org.uk

"Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands project aims to establish one of the UK’s most inspiring examples of rewilding – featuring habitat creation for endangered or rare wildlife such as golden eagle, Scottish wildcat, red squirrel and pine marten, the planting of 50,000 trees, a boost for wildlife tourism, and 10,000 rare montane tree species being grown each year to re-establish higher altitude woodlands. Centrepiece of the project is Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Invermoriston – a ‘lost world’ biodiversity hotspot where more than 3,000 species have been discovered, including 10 found nowhere else in the UK and others that are extremely rare. The 4,000-hectare estate welcomes over 300 volunteers annually, part of an exciting 250-year vision to save Scotland's ancient Caledonian Forest. Engaging with local communities is an important part of the initiative, including support to enhance biodiversity at nearby community project Glengarry Community Woodland."

More about Trees for Life's rewilding project.